


honeybuns (and other heartaches)

by kasttronaut



Category: When The Night Comes (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Gen, Mutual Pining, Other, even though Daniel is actually an enforcer, this was supposed to be cute and fun and then it got Emotional
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-06-30 13:26:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19854115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kasttronaut/pseuds/kasttronaut
Summary: There's always emotions involved when it comes to sweets.





	honeybuns (and other heartaches)

**Author's Note:**

> This features Enforcer Daniel Setsuna and a brief mention of his sibling Kai (a Hunter), who belong to KSilverland on here, and my Hunter Antiope.

Daniel was late. 

If asked the day before, Antiope would have denied that he even knew the meaning of the word. Daniel, who was usually at his office at least half an hour early, even earlier if he and August were planning another patrol, another route, another attempt to flush the monster out? Daniel Setsuna, who was the second biggest workaholic she knew right after his sibling Kai? _Enforcer_ Daniel Setsuna, who she had walked in on waking up at his desk twice in the past month? 

She remembered the first time they had met; Harry had called a meeting to make sure she, Piper, and August had officially been introduced to the second Enforcer and the third Hunter he had brought in to assist in solving whatever was killing their comrades. She’d been intimidated at first. Both of the Setsunas had reputations that preceded them, and they’d been immediately no-nonsense and had thrown themselves into solving the problem with everything they had, leaving room for little else.

And then Kai had gone and fallen in love with Ezra and Finn (she had made a bet with Piper on when they’d get together; Piper had won, but Antiope was happy for the three of them all the same- they were good together, and Kai deserved light in their life). She’d had to retrieve them from Ezra’s because they’d exhausted themself and slept in instead of meeting her for a routine perimeter check. She’d offhandedly mentioned an amazing bakery down the corner from the Wolf, and then ran into Daniel stress-eating several pastries in his office a few days later. After realizing that neither of them were infallible, Antiope had quickly warmed to both.

And now there she was, looking around Daniel’s immaculate office at Enforcer HQ as if he would be hiding under his desk, or maybe behind a stack of paperwork. He was _never_ late, much less absent from his office when he had an appointment. _Where is he?_ She closed his office door, being careful to make sure she hadn’t disturbed anything, and paused outside of it.

 _I would have heard about it if something had happened to him, right?_ Her brow creased as she turned, heading for her Enforcer’s office. It was just down the hall, so she didn’t have far to walk. _He’d have sent word if he was going to be late. If he got hurt August would have left a note. Would have sent Kai or Piper, maybe Ezra._ Would have let her know.

_Right?_

She thumped on the door, her shoulders tense, and when there wasn’t an answer she tried again. Her heart was racing; had August and Daniel gone out without telling their Hunters? Was it an emergency? Were they in trouble? She slammed the door with her fist once more, a last desperate attempt to see if anyone was there, before-

“This had better be fucking urgent, with the way you’re bloody knocking on my- Antiope? Has something happened? What’s wrong?” August’s brow was pinched as they cracked the door open, their lip curled, but they quickly stood down as they took her in; she paused for a moment, her heart rate slowing as she studied them. The annoyed curl of their magic dissipated around them, the faint electric blue of it sparking off their fingers. But just that small bit of it shouldn’t have made her hair stand on end the way it was, so why...? She narrowed her eyes.

August was fine, but in her panic she’d failed to realize that their hair was mussed, almost falling out of their signature meticulous ponytail, and they were glowing faintly. Their magic pulsed under their skin, and as she looked back up to meet their eyes she also noted their blush. 

Oh.

_Oh._

_Piper is going to be so angry that she lost this time._

She fought a grin as she glanced behind them, trying to see what she could through the small bit they’d opened the door. Daniel wasn’t in her immediate line of sight, but that didn’t mean her commanding officer hadn’t shoved him in their closet when she knocked, and she did smile at that. She tried to make it look apologetic as she took a step back, but August’s quirked brow let her know she’d done a poor job of it.

“Sorry, August. I can’t find Daniel, and I panicked a bit. He wasn’t at his office and he’s late for our bakery run, so I thought something might be wrong and came here. Is he, uh...Is he here with you, by any chance?”

The knowledge that they were absolutely going to punish her for this, probably with extra patrols they’d insist she take someone else on ( _Piper and Kai are going to kill me_ ), was nothing compared to the glee she felt as they clenched their jaw and flushed a vibrant, spreading pink. She _knew_ it. 

August cleared their throat and then nodded sharply, opening the door fully and stepping back to allow her in. 

“He is. Da- _Major_ , General Romara is looking for you. Something about a bakery run?”

Taking a step through, she saw Daniel leaning against August’s desk, casually looking over what she recognized as patrol reports that August apparently had yet to read through. He looked put together, the blush that graced August’s cheeks absent on his, red hair falling to his shoulders elegantly and not like he’d just been kissing August senseless. 

Maybe he hadn’t been? But they’d definitely been up to something, she could feel it.

She cleared her throat. “Decided to miss our biweekly trip, Major?”

He looked at her with a wince. “My apologies, Antiope. I was preoccupied and should have sent word.”

“Yes, you should have.” She smiled to let him know there was no real venom behind the barb, and then quirked a brow. “Are we still on to go, or should I leave you two to your,” she gestured vaguely between the two of them, “ _Enforcing_?” 

Daniel spared August a loaded glance and then ripped his attention back to her. “Still on, if you don’t mind. Would you give us a few more moments to finish our debriefing? I’ll meet you out in the hall.”

“Of course. And Major?”

“Hm?”

“That report you’re reading is upside down.” She walked out with a grin and closed the door to give them some privacy, catching the incredulous bite of laughter from August before she did.

Daniel was out a few minutes later, leveling her with an unimpressed glare as she beamed at him. She waited until they had started walking and were out of earshot of the door (and one of the most dangerous witches she knew) before laying into him.

“Cozying up to Gus, hm? Were you helping them with _paperwork_? On their _desk_? Is that why I had to knock so lou-”

“I don’t believe it’s any of your concern, Antiope.” He looked anywhere but at her, his jaw set. “Besides, how many times have I had to trek through the mud to retrieve you from Alkar’s hovel?”

He had changed the topic on purpose and they both knew it, but she decided to humor him anyway.

“First, it’s not a hovel! It’s clean- mostly- and cozy, more like an underground cottage. Second, only five! And I have the muscles from cleaning and shining your boots to prove it.” She flexed, and when he rolled his eyes her grin only grew. “Fine, that’s my bad. I’m just enjoying the novelty of having the shoe on the other foot for once, you know?”

“A little too much, if you ask me.” Daniel’s tone was light as they turned a corner, but she saw the tension in his shoulders. The last thing she wanted was to make him uncomfortable about whatever he had with August, so she dropped it. 

_My turn to switch topics._

“Maybe! But it’s only because I’m also enjoying the thought of beating you in an eating contest.” She elbowed him lightly, smiling to herself when he let out a sigh of relief. “Think I can get to twelve muffins this time, instead of ten?” 

“You’d have to get me to agree to participate, which would be a first. You might be able to?” He eyed the top of her head with a morbid fascination, no doubt wondering how someone so small ate so much. “I’d rather not see you get sick again, however, so perhaps you should stick with one or two. Three or four, if you must.”

“Damn, they don’t call you Stick-in-the-Mud Setsuna for nothing, do they?” At his askance look, she laughed, loud and free and happy. “I promise- I _promise_ I’ve never actually heard anyone say that! All the talk has been incredibly respectful.” 

“I’m sure.” He rolled his eyes again, opening the bakery door for her and following her in. The lovely person behind the counter greeted them warmly, recognizing them as regulars, and then went back to decorating a batch of cupcakes. 

They split off from each other, Daniel going for his apple tarts and Antiope for her eclairs, before reconvening in front of the counter. Now came the hard part.

“What about the apple danishes?” Daniel pointed them out, and while they did look delicious, she shook her head. 

“That’s cheating, you already have something with apples in it that that you’re taking home. It’s about trying new things, remember? Getting us out of our comfort zones.” She scanned the other wares behind the glass, wondering if she could finally break Omen’s chocolate addiction if she brought a sweet-enough substitute home. 

Daniel let out a long-suffering sigh. “What would you suggest instead, Romara?” 

“No need to get testy with me! What about the honey buns? Those look good, and Ezra swears by them.” She could picture Alkar enjoying them too, and even if Daniel didn’t want to try them she made a mental note to pick some up.

He eyed them speculatively for a moment before giving a decisive nod. “Honey buns it is.” 

Decision made, they made quick work of ordering, and soon enough were on their way back to HQ. It was still early, and they bantered back and forth while watching Lunaris come awake around them as they went.

“Did you really need to get six of both? At this rate you’re going to make me sick just thinking about it, you know. And get a headache, since I know what you’re like on a sugar high.”

“Eight of those twelve are for Alkar and Omen, I’ll have you know.” She shot him a look, pulling him to the left a bit so they could avoid a woman hurrying the other way. “Besides, you’re one to talk! Why did you get two of each? You’ve only ever gotten one.”

Daniel’s shoulders hunched as he gave his bakery bag a cross look. Had he even registered that he’d bought extra? 

“I was... _am_ hungry. I thought I’d get extra for snacks throughout the day.”

Abruptly, she remembered that when Ezra had been telling her about the honey buns, he’d also mentioned that August was quite fond of them as well.

 _He certainly got them for_ some _sort of snack_. She almost snorted at her own joke, but figured it would be more trouble than it was worth if Daniel asked what she was so amused by.

Instead, she nodded as if he was making perfect sense and there was nothing to question, not intent on annoying him. She knew when to tease and when to back off.  
“Perfectly reasonable. Just be careful they don’t go stale, yeah?” 

A gruff agreement marked the end of that line of conversation, and the rest of the way home was spent eating in a moody silence and a thoughtful quiet. She walked him to his office door, and just before leaving she decided to take a chance. Daniel was a good man, but he was so incredibly thick when it came to how he felt sometimes that it made her want to scream. 

“Hey, Daniel?” Antiope leaned against the doorjamb and looked at him, looked at how the room seemed to swallow him. Wondered if he had been that way for a while, without anyone to lean on. She didn’t know much about what had gone down between him and Kai, but even now they were strained with each other. Polite, at least in front of her, but hurt. 

She considered him a friend, but didn’t know if he felt the same.

He swallowed the bite of his second apple tart he had taken and met her gaze. There were a few crumbs on his scarf, and she smiled at the fact that he didn’t immediately brush them off. It was nice to know that he felt he didn’t have to be put together at all times around her.

“Hm?”

_Now or never. ___

__“It’s not my place, and I know that, but I think you and August would be good for each other.” He went to speak, and she held up her hand. “No, wait, hold on. In the year I’ve known August, you’re the only person I’ve seen them slow down for. They run circles around all of us, all the time, when it comes to getting work done and making sure people are safe and stressing themselves out. They almost stood still for you today, and it's the first time in a long time- ever, I think, actually- that I've seen them let someone in. And you can try to hide or deny it all you want, but you like them just as much.” She kept her gaze locked to his, her heart squeezing as she saw his eyes shutter. Her feelings were one thing, and she didn’t want to push- just to encourage. Maybe she'd said too much._ _

__She took a deep breath. “I just think it’s time my two favorite Enforcers had something to be happy about, you know? The kind of happy that makes your cheeks ache with laughter and glow with a blush and your heart fill with fire and wonder and warmth. I think you both deserve that, at least.”_ _

__They were both quiet then, the silence seeming to stretch the seconds into taffy before he finally broke it._ _

__“Duly noted. Good day, General Romara. Please see yourself out, and best of luck on your patrol this afternoon.”_ _

__She sighed._ _

__“…See you later, Daniel.”_ _


End file.
